Bob Arum: Philippines wants Manny Pacquiao’s certified tax forms from IRS

Manny Pacquiao’s bank accounts in the Philippines have been frozen because of his tax problems.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue in the Philippines says Pacquiao hasn’t proved he paid taxes in 2008-2009. They froze the accounts of his wife and assessed him $50 million in back taxes in July. Pacquiao earned his money fighting in the US those years, and a treaty ensures he won’t be taxed in both countries. But the Philippines wants concrete proof from the IRS that Pacquiao indeed paid taxes those years.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum confirmed that the Philippines wants the proof from the IRS.

“Filipino authorities confirmed that Manny is not required to pay double tax. If Manny paid U.S. taxes for fights and endorsements that occurred on U.S. soil, he is not required to pay double taxes in the Philippines,” Arum said in a statement via Boxing Scene.

“For each of Manny’s fights that occurred in the United States, including those in 2008 and 2009, Top Rank withheld 30% of Manny’s purses and paid those monies directly to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Top Rank has deposit confirmations for each payment. Top Rank has done the same for all U.S. endorsements it has facilitated on Manny’s behalf.

“Top Rank submitted copies of the EFT deposit acknowledgements to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as proof of payment. The BIR received the documents but directed Manny to obtain “certified” documents directly from the IRS itself.

“As I am sure people appreciate, obtaining certified copies of documents from the IRS takes time. Manny made the formal request to the IRS and we have every expectation that the necessary documents will be furnished to the BIR very soon.”

In other words, Arum says this whole thing will be resolved. But there have long been reports that Pacquiao has had tax problems in the US. That’s a big reason why his most recent fight was in Macau, where the tax rate is lower, and why he doesn’t plan on fighting in the US in the future.

Because his accounts were frozen, Pac-Man says he had to borrow money to aid the typhoon victims in his home country.